Will Potawatomi stiff Milwaukee on new jobs? Or is it more anti-competition hypocrisy?

We’ve all seen and heard the current $200,000+ ad buy paid for by the Potawatomi as part of their overall effort to maintain their monopoly and restrict competition . . . and hurt Wisconsin. One of the red herrings in the Potawatomi campaign is a claim that “there are no jobs” for Milwaukee’s central city residents at the Kenosha casino.

It seems that consistency of message isn’t one of the Potawatomi’s strengths. On the contrary, the ad campaign shows again that the Potawatomi will say and do anything to hold on to their monopoly – even when their words don’t match their actions.

Here’s the story: Potawatomi recently placed ads in Milwaukee minority newspapers claiming the Kenosha casino won’t hire Milwaukee residents. The ads – Potawatomi used some of their bulging bankroll to go so far as to translate the ads into Spanish – falsely implied that only Kenosha and Racine residents would get jobs and there would be no opportunities for those from Milwaukee’s central city. That, of course, is a bogus claim, and we can examine that in detail another day.

Claims like the ones in the July 18 Milwaukee Community Journal ad seem to be in direct contradiction to the big job fair the Potawatomi had to help fill positions created by the $240 million expansion of their Milwaukee casino. And where did the Potawatomi hold the job fair? Milwaukee’s central city? Milwaukee’s south side? Somewhere in the Milwaukee county suburbs?

Nope. The Racine Marriott.

The Potawatomi dropped more big bucks on a full-page, full-color ad in Kenosha encouraging Kenosha and Racine residents to apply for jobs at the expanded Milwaukee casino.

So let’s sort this out:

• Potawatomi makes bogus claim that no one in Milwaukee will get jobs at the Kenosha casino
• Potawatomi holds job fair for Milwaukee jobs in Racine
• Potawatomi buy full-page, full-color ad in the Kenosha News to promote the job fair in Racine

It’s hard to make this stuff up, folks, but the Potawatomi are making this blog easy to update by often showing their anti-competitive hypocrisy on an ongoing basis.

They can’t have it both ways, even if they pay for it.

Stay tuned for the next installment.

Sign the online petition to support casino competition in Southeastern Wisconsin and real job creation for the entire region.

Talk about competition

A recent national AP story ran in the Waukesha Freeman about competition among casinos in Atlantic City. At least 11 casinos are undergoing massive expansion and renovation plans as they continue to battle for market share with Las Vegas and casinos in neighboring states, the AP reported. Total investment: at least $10 billion!

“Almost every casino here is spending millions of dollars to either expand or renovate, or has just finished doing so,” said the AP dispatch.

Maybe the Forest County Potawatomi can look at this example and see the importance of competition and the benefits it would bring to Southeastern Wisconsin.

Sign the online petition to bring the benefits of casino competition to Southeastern Wisconsin.

From one Tribal leader to another

The Forest County Potawatomi Community’s Tribal Chairman and Executive Council are pretty quiet on the casino competition issue. It actually seems that Potawatomi’s non-elected Attorney General is the one leading the pro-monopoly charge, and a paid lobbyist does the vast majority of the Tribe’s media interviews on the topic.

It’s very different from the Menominee Tribe, where Tribal Chair Lisa Waukau and other Menominee leaders have been active, visible and involved advocates of the Kenosha project and bringing casino competition to the region.

We asked Chair Waukau what she would say if she had the chance to discuss casino competition with her Potawatomi counterpart.


Sign the online petition to bring the benefits of casino competition to all tribes and Southeastern Wisconsin.

Milwaukee influencers still not buying Potawatomi's anti-competition argument

It’s Week 3 of the Forest County Potawatomi’s $200,000 anti-competition ad campaign, and Milwaukee influencers still aren’t buying what Potawatomi’s silly “No East Coast” ads are trying to sell.

WTMJ-AM’s Charlie Sykes deftly dissected one of the Potawatomi ads during his show late last week. A few highlights:

** “Wisconsin Gaming for Wisconsin,’ OK, cut through all that smoke and mirrors…it’s the Potawatomi that like having a monopoly.”

** “All of the elected officials…the prominent elected officials who were at the press conference last week in Kenosha and Racine…said ‘yeah, we want this.’ This business community says they want this. They’ve had referendums where the voters have said they want this. So who outside of Connecticut would want this? Well, the people in Kenosha and Racine, not to mention…the Menominee, who are actually from Wisconsin. They would also like this as well.”

** “(The ads say) this will not bring jobs to Milwaukee. Well, no…it will bring jobs to Kenosha. Which is why the people in Kenosha…want it to be in Kenosha.”

** “The Mohegan are still the minority to the Menominee…the invisible tribe. My understanding is the Menominee actually went to the Potawatomi and said, “Would you like to be our partners in this?” And the Potawatomi said “No, we got our deal…we got our set-up in Milwaukee…why would we want to help you guys?”

** “What’s really going on here is that the Potawatomi have a lot more money…they’ve got an investment to protect…they do not want to have any competition.”

And while economic studies show that competition can flourish in Southeast Wisconsin, and that Milwaukee will continue to do just fine with a Kenosha casino in place, we love Charlie’s suggestion for a new tagline for Potawatomi’s commercials. “Milwaukee loses, Kenosha wins, and the Menominee get the money that we want all of!”

Charlie recently included Potawatomi’s ads as a topic on his weekly TV show as well. Milwaukee PR exec Jeff Fleming has an interesting take on the matter – he says the Potawatomi are trying to create an issue to protect their monopoly, and are conveniently ignoring the fact that they had outside help when they established their own off-reservation casino nearly two decades ago.

Help put an end to Potawatomi’s anti-competition hypocrisy by signing the online petition.

Support for casino competition runs 3-to-1

An online poll by the Kenosha News shows rock-solid support for the proposed Menominee casino – and the competition it would bring to Southeast Wisconsin’s gaming market. More than 75 percent of respondents – three of every four – said they support the Menominee entertainment center, which would offer the Forest County Potawatomi their first taste of competition since opening their off-reservation Milwaukee casino nearly two decades ago.

The poll ended July 16. Here’s the final tally:

Do you think the proposed Kenosha casino will sufficiently benefit the Menominee tribe and not harm the Kenosha community?

Yes. The Menominee Nation has a solid proposal, and the Kenosha community will benefit from it.: 75.5%

No. The proposal will not benefit the Menominee or the Kenosha community.: 17.5%

Not sure. There are still a lot of questions.: 7.0%

Total Votes: 429

Earlier this spring, a poll by the Milwaukee Business Journal also showed overwhelming support for the Kenosha casino. In that poll, 62 percent of respondents said the federal government should approve the project – and bring casino competition to Southeast Wisconsin!

Show your support for the Kenosha project and real casino competition by signing the online petition today!

Milwaukee Biz Blogger talks up competition

Today’s Small Business Times “Milwaukee Biz Blog” features an excellent commentary by Southeastern Wisconsin businessman Bob Lee.

The whole thing is a great read – the premise is that good businesses like Lee’s Kenosha-based plumbing company embrace competition, they don’t try to kill it. Here are a few highlights:

“If they’re successful, the Potawatomi will kill more than just competition – they’ll kill economic opportunity for our region and state. They’ll kill the opportunity for 3,000 good-paying jobs guaranteed for Southeast Wisconsin residents, hundreds of millions of dollars for local schools and government, and billions of dollars in payments to the State of Wisconsin. The Potawatomi like to brag that they pay more to the State than any other tribe or business. The Menominee would pay even more than Potawatomi – provided their casino gets built.

“The latest weapon in Potawatomi’s anti-competition arsenal is a series of expensive and annoying television and radio ads complaining that a small portion of Kenosha casino money will go to the Connecticut tribe helping the impoverished Menominee get the project off the ground.

“You heard that right – the Potawatomi want people to be mad because an out-of-state entity is making a significant investment to grow business and create jobs in Southeastern Wisconsin. The next thing you know, the Potawatomi will be protesting DaimlerChrysler’s $450 million retooling of its Kenosha engine plant. They’ll stage sit-ins at the site of Illinois-based Abbott Labs’ proposed new Kenosha corporate campus. Maybe they’ll walk picket lines in Miller Valley to protest Miller Brewing Company’s foreign ownership. The Potawatomi argument is seriously flawed and absurd.”

What’s your take on closing Wisconsin’s doors to out-of-state business investment? Leave us a comment, and be sure to sign the online petition for real competition and economic growth in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Pro-competition message spreads in the blogosphere

Since we launched CasinoCompetitionForWisconsin earlier this week, we've gotten a lot of great response.

Thank you to these bloggers for helping to spread our message.

Badger Blogger
The Crocodile Cage
MyFoxMilwaukee - doxboi's Blog
The Native Blog
Wigderson Library & Pub

Show your support by signing the online petition.

So, who's the one shipping millions of dollars out of Wisconsin?

Proving they’ll say and do anything to squelch competition and maintain their government-backed monopoly, Potawatomi’s latest expensive ad campaign complains that for a few years, a very small portion of Kenosha casino proceeds would go to an out-of-state tribe helping Wisconsin’s Menominee Tribe with the project. (The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut joined the Kenosha project team only after Potawatomi refused repeated offers to partner with Menominee.)

But, even as they blast local airwaves with their “Wisconsin Gaming for Wisconsin” message, the Potawatomi are sending some of their Wisconsin gaming money to Minnesota to start an ad agency.

A quick look at the Potawatomi Business Development Corporation Web site shows that when it comes to funneling money out of Wisconsin, the Potawatomi are experts. Potawatomi has sent millions out of Wisconsin to invest in a luxury hotel in Washington, D.C. They’ve sent Dairyland dollars to a California software company. They’ve spent Wisconsin money to invest in a modular home manufacturer in Minnesota. They’ve poured a lot of Wisconsin dollars into architecture and tech services companies in Oklahoma.

Protecting their monopoly by killing competition apparently requires that Potawatomi say and do anything – even if the right hand criticizes what the left hand is doing. Sorry, Potawatomi – a quick geography check shows our nation’s capital is still about 800 miles to the east, and sunny California 2,000 miles to the west. Minnesota isn’t Wisconsin, and Oklahoma is a long way from the Menomonee Valley.

Recent polling shows the Potawatomi’s ads are a big flop – in fact, more people actually favor casino competition for our state. It seems like no one’s really buying the “Wisconsin Gaming for Wisconsin” argument.

And with millions of dollars’ worth of out-of-state investments, we guess the Potawatomi aren’t buying their own argument either.

Support good jobs and positive economic development right here in Wisconsin by signing the online petition for real casino competition in the region.

Mark Belling: Potawatomi are 'liars'

Milwaukee radio show host Mark Belling certainly isn’t impressed with Potawatomi’s fancy new anti-competition ad campaign.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Sign the online petition to bring honest competition to Potawatomi’s monopoly.

Potawatomi's latest anti-competition ad buy nears $200,000

$199,530, to be exact.

That’s what our research shows Potawatomi dropped to air its latest round of slick, non-competition TV and radio ads in Milwaukee over the next four weeks.

It’s a lot of money – but Potawatomi is clearly committed to avoiding competition and preserving its monopoly at all costs.

Sign the online petition and support real business competition in Southeast Wisconsin.

Slick new ads defy political analysis, but highlight Potawatomi's anti-competition frenzy

We knew we’d have a lot to talk about at Casino Competition for Wisconsin – we just didn’t realize the Potawatomi’s anti-competition fervor would play into our hands so quickly. Yet just last night, “Wisconsin Gaming for Wisconsin” (the front group funded solely by the Potawatomi) launched a new barrage of TV and radio ads attacking competition from Kenosha.

Potawatomi’s ads – so far, we’ve counted three shiny new TV ads and at least one radio ad – are confusing at best. Their singular message is that the Mohegan Tribe’s investment in the Kenosha project is somehow bad. But insiders familiar with fresh polling on this very issue say that Wisconsinites just don’t agree with Potawatomi’s claims. It’s also puzzling that the ads target Milwaukee so closely – our sources say research shows the Kenosha project has an extremely strong base of support in Milwaukee, right in Potawatomi’s back yard.

But Potawatomi pays its advisers a pretty penny to develop these fancy ads (and so far, we’ve confirmed they’ve paid more than $125,000 to air them in Milwaukee!) It’s not our job to steer them. It’s more important to point out the facts blurred by the half-truths, misleading statements and inaccurate information that Potawatomi’s actors are spouting on the air.

The ads say some pretty silly things about the ominous “East Coast.” What they DON’T say is this:

• The Potawatomi twice refused requests to partner with the Menominee, a fellow Wisconsin tribe, on the Kenosha project. Menominee approached Mohegan – the foremost experts on Indian gaming in the U.S. - only after Potawatomi said no.
  

• The vast majority of Kenosha casino proceeds will always go to the Menominee – one of the state’s poorest tribes – right here in Wisconsin.
  

• The City of Kenosha, Kenosha County and Kenosha schools will always receive more money from the Kenosha casino than Mohegan. So will the State of Wisconsin (in fact, the State will get far more than it currently gets from the Potawatomi!)
  

• Mohegan will receive a small percentage of Kenosha casino revenue for seven years only. After that initial start-up period (during which they’ll train Wisconsin’s Menominee to run the facility on their own), the Mohegan will leave the project. The only tribe – and the only entity – with equity in the Kenosha casino is the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.
  

Wisconsinites realize out-of-state investment to grow local businesses is a good thing – that’s why we welcome foreign-owned Miller Brewing Company, DaimlerChrysler and other good companies like them. And the Potawatomi don’t seem to have a problem sending their own Wisconsin gaming money out-of-state – they’ve invested in businesses in Oklahoma, and elsewhere, even a luxury hotel in Washington, D.C. (on the dreaded “East Coast!”)

This isn’t about a few dollars leaving the state – especially when Wisconsin will get so much in return. It’s about Potawatomi trying desperately to hang on to the monopoly they’ve held for nearly 20 years.

Watch this space

Congratulations!

You’ve found CasinoCompetitionForWisconsin.com, a blog chronicling the Forest County Potawatomi’s multimillion-dollar effort to block competition, retain the huge monopoly Potawatomi’s Milwaukee casino has held for nearly two decades and kill the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin’s proposed Kenosha casino.

Potawatomi’s battle against potential competition has all the makings of a compelling story:

• Fantasy: Claims of economic catastrophe that have absolutely no basis in fact
• Intrigue: A private investigator sniffing around, and high-powered lobbyists trying to change state and federal law
• Plot twists: Potawatomi decrying the small amount of Kenosha casino money that would go to a Connecticut tribe while heralding their own major business investments outside the Badger State
• Irony: One of Wisconsin’s richest tribes going all-out to hold down one of Wisconsin’s poorest – despite multiple economic studies that show two competing casinos can flourish in Southeast Wisconsin’s largely untapped gaming market

And that’s just the beginning.

We’ll illustrate it all with links to public documents, news articles, economic studies, video, audio, photos and more. You won’t want to miss this – so please subscribe to our blog and plan to come back often for updates.

To kick things off, listen to what Menominee Tribal Chair Lisa Waukau has to say about the benefits casino competition will bring in terms of jobs and economic opportunity for Wisconsin.